By Nume Ekeghe
The President, Bank Directors Association of Nigeria (BDAN), Mrs. Osaretin Demuren, has called on directors of financial institutions in the country to increase their corporate governance practices in order to ensure stability and accountability in the banking sector.
She said this yesterday on the sidelines of BDAN’s 24th annual general meeting in Lagos yesterday.
She noted that it was important to also ensure that the emergence and appointment of directors in banks are properly vetted and should be given to only qualified candidates.
She said: “Corporate governance should be entrenched in bank directors. Even when recruiting directors, you have to find out on what basis and not everyone is corporate governance compliant.”
According to her, banks should not be in position where it is majorly owned by an individual, saying this brings about lapses in corporate governance.
She added: “We have gone beyond banking where banks should be owned by individuals. Once that is out of the way then corporate governance can be entrenched.
“But when you have an individual, whether directly or indirectly, then it is now left to the regulator or the nation to call that person to order.”
The BDAN President is set to step down as her tenure was recently extended by the council and members by another 90 days, pending an election and appointment of a new President.
Earlier, in her opening remarks, she said: “I took over as the President of BDAN in October 2018, at the 21st Annual General Meeting, and since assuming office, I can confidently say that with the support of my colleagues, we have been able to deliver on the mandate of the association by increasing members’ participation, increase in revenue as evident in our financial statements and improved quality of our programmes.
“There is still more to be done notwithstanding with regards to advocacy with the regulators. I am sure whoever takes over as President will further deliver on our aspirations.”
“I am therefore informing this meeting that this is the last meeting I will be acting in the capacity as President as my tenure as the Chairman of Guaranty Trust Bank has come to an end and we are in a transition period.
“In view of this, we will also have a transition period where I will be speaking with my colleagues, chairmen of banks, on who will be my successor. I hereby crave your indulgence as we go through the transition period and assure that members will be carried along throughout the process,” she added.
